This painting is the first in a series of visualized dream sequences for a fantasy tale that I am currently writing.

The book centres on our present-day environment and the creatures who dwell in it. The human race, known as the Arrogant, believe themselves to be superior, as they are at the top of the food chain. In fact, it is the unwavering and solid foundation of the food chain, known as the Fathercast, upon which all creatures depend for survival. It is the simple organisms, from plankton and algae.... on down to bacteria and viruses, that really rule.

These single celled organisms work together as individual neurons in a vast brain that spans the globe. All living creatures are a part of this collective conscience that controls the planet by majority consensus. A select group, known as the Offspring – ocean dwellers, acting as ambassadors for their species – gather at Beckoning Rock to decide the fate of humanity.

The Anarchist Offspring are tired of extinction brought about by reckless and selfish human behaviour. They’ve initiated a plot to deal with the Arrogant. But some believe that humanity must be included in the final balance of life on earth. They know that they must somehow bring humanity in line with the collective. But how?

In the maelstrom of so many thoughts, of so much anger and pain, a new and unfamiliar voice is whispering. There is hope. Mark Heine